The new aluminum engine reports 415 horsepower and 398 pound-feet of torque as well as direct injection with a stop-start feature to help improve fuel mileage. Look for the Mercedes-Benz roadster to arrive in showrooms sometime in January 2012; MSRP: $54,800.

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SOURCE: AdAge.com — Now that we are all back from the holidays, making resolutions on our efficiency and work ethic, it’s fitting that a Mercedes-Benz video entered our video chart this week, featuring two Formula One drivers racing along on the side of a snow-covered mountain. Even for those of us, like me, who don’t follow the sport, the video makes its point with one car getting in front of another as the speedier driver shakes his head saying, “I knew it! Sunday driver,” only to be cut off by a third car, a woman in a Mercedes SUV shaking her own head saying, “I knew it, senior citizen.” For those who do follow Formula One rivalries, the “senior citizen” is Mika Hakkinen and the “Sunday driver” driver is Michael Schumacher — two racing legends who famously battled each other in the 1990s. (Full article here: AdAge.com)

Mercedes-Benz Sunday Driver Video | Holiday Commercial

AMG Market News/Press Release from Stuttgart/Brackley – The MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Formula One Team can confirm that seven-times Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher will make his racing return in 2010 with the Silver Arrows team. With seven Drivers’ World Championships, 248 Grand Prix starts, 91 victories, 154 podium finishes and 68 pole positions, the 40-year old German needs no introduction following an illustrious and record-breaking Formula One career from 1991 to 2006 at the Jordan, Benetton and Ferrari teams. Michael’s return to racing with MERCEDES GP PETRONAS sees his return to Mercedes-Benz Motorsport where he began his racing apprenticeship as part of the Junior Programme in 1990, racing in Group C sports cars and DTM, and sees Michael renew his partnership with Ross Brawn with whom he won all seven of his World Championships. The announcement confirms the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS driver line-up for the 2010 season with Michael partnering his compatriot, 24 year old Nico Rosberg, in the Silver Arrows cars.

Michael Schumacher: “MERCEDES GP PETRONAS represents a new challenge for me both in a sporting and a personal context. It is a new chapter in my racing career and I am really looking forward to working with my old friend Ross Brawn and my companions from my days with the Mercedes Junior Programme. I am convinced that together we will be involved in the fight for the Formula 1 World Championship next year and I am already looking forward to getting back onto the race track. For me, this partnership closes the circle. Mercedes supported me for so many years when I began my Formula 1 career and now I can hopefully give something back to the brand with the star.”

Nico Rosberg: “It is fantastic that Michael is returning to Formula One and will be my team-mate at MERCEDES GP PETRONAS. It’s a great challenge for me to be up against one of the best drivers of all time. I’m sure that we will form a very strong partnership as he will have lost none of his speed! It is also great news for our sport and the fans.”

Ross Brawn: Team Principal of MERCEDES GP PETRONAS: “I am delighted that we can confirm today that Michael will make his much-anticipated return to Formula One next year and drive for our MERCEDES GP PETRONAS team. As seven-time World Champion, Michael’s outstanding record in Formula One speaks for itself and I am looking forward to working with him again. With the completion of our driver line-up, I believe that we now have the most exciting partnership in Formula One with Michael and Nico, who provide the perfect mix of talent, experience, speed and youth. We can now turn our full attention to the preparations for the new season and everyone at MERCEDES GP PETRONAS is extremely excited about the challenge ahead. With the investment and support in our team provided by Daimler, Aabar and our new title partner Petronas, and with two such exciting drivers, we have all of the building blocks in place to have another successful season in 2010.”

Norbert Haug: Vice-President of Mercedes-Benz Motorsports: “In April 1991, when I had been in charge of the Mercedes-Benz Motorsport programme for just six months, Michael was standing beside me on the balcony one evening. Without the slightest doubt, he said in a low voice: “It’s about time that I got into Formula 1″. Michael had just turned 22 years of age and four months later, he made his debut at Spa in a Jordan. Mercedes-Benz helped him to this point and the rest is history: seven World Championship titles, more than any racing driver, 91 Grand Prix wins, more than any racing driver. Michael has more of everything than every other driver. As part of the Mercedes Junior Programme, Michael had raced in Group C sports cars and competed in a few DTM races. Ross Brawn, then our opponent at Jaguar, quickly realised Michael’s talent and they went on to win all seven of his Drivers’ World Championship titles together at Benetton and Ferrari. Our sporting ambition has always been that Michael should drive again where his professional career had started and Michael knew that. We often joked about it after the races and discussed the prospect seriously several times during the last 14 years in Formula 1. It didn‟t happen in 1995, it didn’t happen in 1998 and it didn’t happen in 2005. I am delighted that it will now happen in 2010. I am very much looking forward to working with Michael and everybody at Mercedes-Benz and Daimler extends a very warm welcome to our ‘apprentice’ of 19 years ago. That apprentice is now the most successful racing driver of all time.”

World Champion Michael Schumacher Interview (Mercedes, Video):

Mercedes SLS AMG Gullwing

Mercedes SLS AMG Gullwing on the Race Track

Mixed Tape, an email marketing program by Mercedes-Benz USA, has just launched the 23rd compilation of free MP3 music files for your listening pleasure while tooling around in your AMG. In addition, they have significantly expanded the program with their online TV show featuring audio-visual highlights from around the world.

Here's the current press release and a link to the free music files for those interested:

Mixed Tape 23 and a new edition of Mixed Tape Music Magazine – now online

Be among the first to watch edition #9 of the Mixed Tape Music Magazine on our dedicated online TV platform. And there is more: Check out Mixed Tape 23 with a cool selection of brand new tracks.

Every eight weeks, Mercedes-Benz not only presents ten handpicked tracks by international newcomers for you to check out and explore as a free download compilation at www.mercedes-benz.tv/mixedtape. For added visual delights, we give you Mixed Tape Music Magazine, an innovative monthly online TV show featuring audio-visual highlights from around the world.

This month's motto says it all: "Hip-Hop Don't Stop". It was almost thirty years ago that Hip-Hop evolved from its underground roots to grip mainstream consciousness with "Rapper's Delight" – and it hasn't let off ever since.

We give you the latest music videos by up-and-coming talent Jendor from California, Amsterdam's Pete Philly & Perquisite and New York's resident hipsters the Retro Kidz – plus a true classic by West Coast heroes The Pharcyde. In addition, look out for the first five artists from our Mixed Tape 23 download compilation!

Hip Hop Don't Stop? Judge for yourself on Mixed Tape Music Magazine #9! 
Mercedes-Benz USA Mixed Tape: www.mercedes-benz.tv/mixedtape

• RENNTECH’s Package 2, 63 Series AMG (Press Release)
• MB Customer Satisfaction is on the Rise (JD Powers Study)
• Britney Spears Rolls in an AMG SL65 (Video)
• Mercedes-Benz SilverFlow is Robocar 2057 (Design Challenge)

AMG Market News Summary

Lake Park, FL, Oct. 30, 2007: RENNtech has developed a new line of aftermarket performance products aimed at getting more power out of the 63 series AMG Mercedes-Benz. RENNtech, generally regarded as the nation’s foremost authority on Mercedes-Benz performance tuning, took something of an “old school” approach towards building its new high-tech products.

“The new AMG motor isn’t like the last generation of turbo or kompressor cars,” explains Hartmut Feyhl, president of RENNtech and former technical director of AMG North America. “This new engine is naturally aspirated, like a more traditional race motor, and the way to get more power out of an engine like the 63 is to improve the engine’s breathing.”To that end, Feyhl and his crew at RENNtech have built new exhaust headers and high-flow sport mufflers, from 304 TiG welded stainless-steel, and developed new engine control software to further boost the engine’s efficiency – and, while “bigger pipes” might seem like a no-brainer, in this case, bigger wasn’t better. (RENNTECH’s Package 2, 63 Series AMG press release here).

MONTVALE, N.J., Nov. 14, 2007, AMG Market News – Customer satisfaction is on the rise for Mercedes-Benz according to J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI). The brand is once again among the five top-ranked nameplates.

The study rates nameplates on five unique aspects of the retail experience: dealership facilities, salespeople, paperwork/finance processes, delivery processes and vehicle pricing. Ernst Lieb, president of Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) commented,

“Over the past year, we have undertaken a comprehensive analysis of every aspect of our customer interface – from our corporate headquarters to dealership service bays.  In partnership with our dealers, we’ve committed ourselves to ensuring that we have the best tools and the best processes in place to meet the needs of our customers.  These study results are a gratifying validation from Mercedes-Benz owners.”

Britney Spears rolls out of Keyes Mercedes-Benz on Van Nuys Boulevard (Sherman Oaks, CA) with a new AMG SL65. She test drove the G-Wagon but settled on the AMG; she may actually be smarter than she looks.

Britney Spears in her Mercedes-Benz AMG SL65

In other news:

Mercedes-Benz SilverFlow is Robocar 2057
AMG Market/PR News, Los Angeles, Nov. 16, 2007: A car with extended, elegant lines which can change its form at the touch of a button and adapt to the requirements of its owners at any time – this is the automotive vision that Mercedes-Benz is presenting at the Los Angeles Design Challenge taking place at the 2007 L.A. Auto Show. When required, this Mercedes of the future can take on the form of a fast highway cruiser, quickly metamorphose into a compact city car, or become a roomy one-seater or economical two-seater, depending on the transport capacity needed. This is made possible by the magnetic control elements of the SilverFlow, a futuristic study by Mercedes-Benz, which take just seconds to configure the car required from tiny metallic particles.

Design Challenge is a competition where eight car design studios in southern California are challenged to create the “Robocar 2057″ as a combination of vehicle technology and artificial intelligence. The Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Center of North America (Irvine, CA) looked 50 years into the future and came up with the shimmering silver and gold Vision SilverFlow car. With its long, flowing lines and narrow, exposed wheels, this vision of the future is highly reminiscent of the golden years in motor racing during the 1930s.

In fact the physical characteristics of the SilverFlow are even more exciting than its shape. It consists of billions of microscopically tiny metallic particles which are formed into variable but stable configurations by magnetic fields. This means that the driver can theoretically adapt the vehicle to its intended purpose. The one-seater highway configuration is aerodynamic, while the city version is short and spacious. The pre-programmed vehicle variants can be selected at any time at the touch of a button, whereupon the assembler electronics reshape the car from one form to another within a few seconds – specialists refer to this as morphing. Any desired shape is conceivable in principle. As a particularly convenient feature when parking, the intelligent control system completely disassembles the vehicle structure and compacts the ferro-magnetic particles into a small, space-saving configuration. And thanks to these flexible metallic particles, dents and paint damage are also a thing of the past.

The disadvantage of the Mercedes-Benz SilverFlow is that so far, it only exists as a two-dimensional graphic design.The SilverFlow study, which – if at all – will only be realizable decades into the future, clearly shows that while car designers certainly live in the present, their working environment is the future.

Beware of this new form of "advertorial." Let's hope unbiased auto reviews and other valued editorial content are not a thing of the past. Hat-tip to MarketingVOX for alerting us to the story.

[Note: the original article is available to paid subscribers only so we are unable to provide a direct link to the source of this story.]

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Cellounge Automobiles – 2007 MB E Class Review

2008 AMG C63 – Mercedes-Benz, Video

Mercedes-Benz SLK55 vs SL55 – Video